Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

GKN: Melrose

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to block in the national interest the hostile takeover bid by Melrose for GKN.

lord henley: Public interest interventions under the Enterprise Act 2002 are quasi-judicial in nature and it is important that Ministers act, and are seen to be acting, impartially. For this reason, the Government does not comment on the use of these powers in individual cases.

The Senior Deputy Speaker

Roads: City of Westminster

lord berkeley: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker whether, following several recent closures of Abingdon Street to through-traffic for vehicles, hehas any plans to initiatediscussions with the Mayor of London, Transport for London, Westminster City Council and other stakeholders to propose its permanent closure to vehicle traffic.

lord mcfall of alcluith: The House of Lords Commission has agreed to support work led jointly by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Westminster City Council (WCC) to consider the feasibility of improvements to the Streetscape around the Palace of Westminster. This work is at very early stages and the GLA and WCC would conduct a public consultation before any detailed design is commenced.

Ministry of Defence

Russia: Military Aircraft

lord temple-morris: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many approaches to UK airspace by Russian military aircraft were detected during (1) 2016, and (2) 2017.

earl howe: The RAF's Air Surveillance and Control System at RAF Boulmer is fully integrated with NATO allies and the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre at Uedem in Germany, which manages NATO's response to such activity. This allows NATO to react in good time to aircraft approaching the airspace of both the UK and our NATO allies.I am withholding details of the number of occasions Russian military aircraft were detected approaching UK airspace. The disclosure of this information would reveal details of the air defence of the UK which would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.However, Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Coningsby launched to intercept Russian military aircraft approaching UK airspace on five days in 2016 and three days in 2017.

Capita

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to conduct an urgent review into the competence of Capita for undertaking army recruitment.

earl howe: I refer the noble Lord to my answer of 7 February 2018 to Question HL5344.



Capita
(Word Document, 22.09 KB)

Department for Work and Pensions

Occupational Pensions

baroness burt of solihull: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to encourage employers to continue contributing to an individual’s automatic enrolment pension fund during maternity leave and carer's leave.

baroness buscombe: Automatic enrolment is helping millions of people save into a workplace pension so that they can look forward to greater security in retirement. So far almost 9.3 million people have been automatically enrolled and more than 1 million employers have met their duties. By 2019/20 an estimated extra £20 billion a year is estimated to go into workplace pensions as a result of our reforms. Automatic enrolment is focussed on people in paid employment and employers must make contributions into a workplace pension for an eligible worker during any periods of paid absence from work, consistent with the requirements under the Pensions Act 2008. This includes, for example, statutory maternity or paternity leave or such other periods of paid absence specified under an individual’s employment contract. Workers on paid contractual leave can opt in to workplace pensions if their earnings fall below the threshold and if they do so they are entitled, under the Pensions Act 2008, to an employer contribution provided they have a sufficient level of earnings. Employers may also provide additional contractual entitlement to pension contributions for their workers in these situations. As part of its role, the Pensions Regulator has made available detailed guidance to employers and their advisers to help employers fulfil their automatic enrolment duties.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Livestock: Animal Welfare

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to combat attacks on livestock.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Government recognises that livestock worrying is distressing for farmers and animals and can have serious financial repercussions. It is already a criminal offence for a dog to worry livestock and owners can be fined up to £1000. Defra has been working with community organisations including Sheepwatch, and with police forces to highlight the support available, encourage farmers to report incidents to the authorities and for the police to take appropriate action. We have also issued clear guidance in our Dog Welfare code about the importance of dog owners keeping their dog on a lead near livestock and prevent it escaping from their property.

Department for Exiting the European Union

Brexit

lord kinnock: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the declaration that “no deal is better than a bad deal” made in the Prime Minister’s Lancaster House speech in January 2016 continues to guide their policy on exiting the EU.

lord callanan: The Prime Minister has been clear that we are focused on delivering the will of the British people and getting a good outcome, a historic agreement that works for the people and businesses of the UK and for those in the EU. This Government does not expect or want a ‘no deal’ outcome from these negotiations. It is strongly in the interests of both the UK and the EU to secure such an agreement, a good deal that works for both sides. However, the Government continues to prepare for a range of results from negotiations, including the unlikely scenario in which no mutually satisfactory agreement can be reached.

UK Trade with EU

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the potential consequences should the EU reject the managed divergence approach to trade.

lord callanan: We are fully focused on making the UK’s exit from the EU, and our new trading relationship with the world, a success. The Government has been undertaking rigorous and extensive analysis work to support our exit negotiations, in order to inform our understanding of how EU exit will affect the UK’s domestic policies and frameworks. In our negotiations with the EU, the UK is seeking to secure a new, deep and special partnership. We propose the greatest possible tariff-free and barrier-free trade with our European neighbours based on our rules and regulations being the same at the start, and on maintaining our commitment to free trade and high standards. However, a responsible government should prepare for all potential outcomes and that is exactly what we are doing across the whole of Government. Every Government department continues to work to ensure a smooth exit from the EU in all eventualities.

Brexit

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Michel Barnier’s comments on the possibility of there being no Brexit transition period for the UK.

lord callanan: Both the Government and the Commission have been clear that a time-limited implementation period is negotiable. Such a period is in the interests of both businesses and individuals in the UK and the EU. The Commission has published their Directives which provide a mandate to negotiate such a period and both sides have set out a legal text for that agreement. It is in the interests of both the UK and the EU to agree the precise terms of this period as quickly as possible, in order to provide vital certainty to businesses and citizens. We are approaching these negotiations in good faith, as indeed is the EU, and are confident we can reach an agreement.

European Union: English Language

viscount waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to seek to ensure that, after Brexit, English will be retained as an official language of the EU.

lord callanan: While the UK will maintain an interest, any decision on official languages of the EU after the UK’s withdrawal will be one to be taken by the EU institutions and their Member States.

European Court of Justice

viscount waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of which cases currently before the European Court of Justice on which they expect to receive adjudication before 29 March 2021.

lord callanan: Based on average timescales for cases before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to reach their conclusion, we expect all cases currently before the ECJ to receive adjudication before 29 March 2021 (notwithstanding any appeals from the General Court to the ECJ).

European Court of Justice

lord campbell of pittenweem: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will clarify the circumstances in which the UK will respect the remit of the European Court of Justice post-Brexit, as referred to in the Prime Minister's speech at the Munich Security Conference in February.

lord callanan: At the Munich Security Conference, the Prime Minister outlined her vision of the UK continuing to cooperate with the EU on security and law enforcement and proposed a new UK/EU treaty on internal security. To be fully effective, this treaty must be respectful of both the UK and EU’s sovereign legal orders. For example, when participating in EU agencies the UK will respect the remit of the European Court of Justice and a principled but pragmatic solution will be needed to respect the UK's status as a third country with our own sovereign legal order.

EU Action: Parliamentary Scrutiny

lord boswell of aynho: To ask Her Majesty's Government, for each government department, from July to December 2017, on how many occasions the Scrutiny Reserve Resolution was overridden in (1) the House of Lords, and (2) the House of Commons; and in respect of how many documents an override occurred in (a) both Houses, (b) the House of Lords, and (c) the House of Commons.

lord callanan: Between July and December 2017, 508 EU proposals and other documents were submitted for scrutiny. Across both Houses there were 95 occasions when the Government supported decisions in the EU Council of Ministers before the scrutiny procedures had been completed by either one or both Scrutiny Committees. In each case the Government explained to the Scrutiny Committees why it was important for the proposal to be supported before clearance had been provided. This period of reporting coincided with the extended period in the new Parliament before the European Scrutiny Committee in the House of Commons was re-appointed on 30 October 2017 and only began meeting again on 13 November to scrutinise documents. As with previous six-monthly periods, the largest category of instrument was fast-moving and sensitive CFSP and EU restrictive measures where there were 66 such instruments adopted before scrutiny could be completed. The figures requested are set out below: Department(1 & b). House of Lords override(2 & c). House of Commons override(a). No. of overrides in both Houses at the same timeTotal no. of overridesBusiness, Energy and Industrial Strategy3737Defence1111Environment, Food and Rural Affairs4848Foreign and Commonwealth Office52705171International Development1212International Trade0101HM Revenue and Customs0101HM Treasury2323Work and Pensions0101Totals63946295

Brexit

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what isthe duration of the transition deal they seek to have with the EU; and what assessment they have made of the economic impact on the UK of a longer transition deal.

lord callanan: The Government has been clear that the aim of the time-limited Implementation Period must be to avoid a disorderly exit from the European Union for individuals and businesses both in the UK and the EU and should therefore provide sufficient time to put new processes and systems in place. As the PM set out in Florence, that points to a duration in the region of two years. This is in line with the Commission’s published position. We remain confident that we will reach agreement by March European Council. The Government is undertaking a comprehensive programme of analytical work across a range of scenarios. It is not standard practice to provide a running commentary on ongoing, internal analysis.